let's move on to vice president joe biden who we know is headed to asia today. 'rifz in tokyo and then he's going to spend a week in the region. what is the overall goal of this trip? >> i think the biggest role that joe biden is playing this week is there's a dispute over an air defense installation that the chinese are starting to set up in an area that is kind of a disputed area between china and japan. joe biden is basically going there not taking a side in the dispute but obviously japan is a major ally in the region. they are balking at what the chinese are trying to do as far as setting up this air defense in this disputed area. so biden is playing kind of a negotiator role, a middle ground role trying to bring the two sides together and avoid some kind of a larger dispute than what's happening right now. >> all right. i believe the president heads there in april. all right. aaron blake with the "washington post," nice to speak you to, sir. >> thank you. >>> coming up next, bill karins and betty will be here for "first buzz." ♪ ♪ ♪ i wanna spread a